ENVIRONMENT chiefs are to stage a major study of the River Ouse's catchment in a bid to develop new ways of tackling flooding downstream, including the York area.

The large strategic project will look at the Swale, Ure, Nidd and Ouse catchments, covering an area of more than 3,000 square kms.

It plans to undertake modelling and develop flood storage and natural flood management opportunities across the catchment.

The project is one of 25 across the country which have been selected to receive a share of £150 million from Defra to test and develop new ways to respond to flooding.

These include plans to restore sub-tidal habitats like kelp beds, oyster reefs and sea grass near South Tyneside, as well as the installation of specialised property flood resilience measures and an app for local residents to tackle the threat of groundwater in Buckinghamshire.

Others include apps alerting residents to flooding, permeable road surfaces to improve drainage and schemes to protect vital sand dune beaches.

The schemes will trial a wide range of different approaches to resilience, tailored to local communities.